COUNTY glider pilot Rose Johnson (pictured) will be seeking success on the world stage when the Women's World Championships begin this weekend.

The competition starts on Sunday at Klix, north-east of Dresden in Germany, and lasts for two weeks, finishing on August 12.

The championships attract the top women pilots from all over the world with entries from as far away as Australia and South Africa.

During the event, the pilots will race daily around courses that typically range from 200km to 600km in length at speeds of up to 300km per hour.

This will be Rose's first appearance in the World Champi-onships, but she has a lot of international experience, having competed at three previous European Championships. Last year she finished fifth in the South African Open Championship.

Rose will be flying in the club class, the only handicapped class in world competition.

She and the rest of the team have already trained at Klix where they were coached by current world champion Andy Davis and ex-world champion, Brian Spreckley, who is also the British team manager.

Rose is a doctor who works as a consultant running the Accident & Emergency department at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital. She lives at Lower Eggleton with her partner, Ian, another glider pilot.